Thursday, August 11, 2011

St. Anthony

St. Anthony is an official Catholic saint and the patron saint of lost or stolen items and of the poor. Many miracles are attributed to the work of St. Anthony and he was one of the quickest-canonized saints having been declared a saint less than a year after his death in 1231.

In life St. Anthony was born into a very wealthy family but gave up that life to become a Franciscan monk. St. Anthony dedicated much time and effort toward the spreading of Christianity and with his work with the poor. He was known as a gifted preacher and was believed to speak with the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Upon his death, it is claimed that his tongue did not decay, a holy sign from God testifying to his gift. St. Anthony's gift for preaching drew him respect from St. Francis of Assisi who viewed him as an excellent teacher and instructor. St. Anthony died of dropsy in the year 1231.

In iconography, St. Anthony is portrayed as a Franciscan monk, dressed in brown, and often portrayed carrying the Christ child or a book, a loaf of bread, or lily. For images of St. Anthony, click HERE.

In Hoodoo and folk magic, St. Anthony is petitioned mainly for the recovery of lost or stolen items, though he can be petitioned for the finding of things, such as the finding of a job or of a suitable mate, or even the return of a lover. St. Anthony is also petitioned for the protection of children and of the poor. Below are some tips for working with St. Anthony. Please remember that in Hoodoo and folk magic the saints are who they are, meaning that unlike with Voodou, Santeria, and other African Traditional Religions, the saints in Hoodoo and folk magic are not masks for African deities or spirits but instead are the spirits of the blessed dead who will intercede in the lives of the living.

Tips For Working With St. Anthony

1.) St. Anthony's colors are brown and white.
2.) St. Anthony's day of the week is Tuesday.
3.) St. Anthony's feast day is June 13.
4.) St. Anthony is a "cool spirit" meaning he is loving and kind and slow to anger. St. Anthony will generally tolerate delays in fulfilling one's vow to him but he should not be petitioned for his aid further until one does fulfill their vows.
5.) St. Anthony cannot be petitioned for black magic purposes. He will not harm or hurt anyone. He will rack the minds of thieves with guilt and even scare them into returning stolen items though. St. Anthony is not good for protection for anyone other than children and the poor.
6.) St. Anthony loves children. This probably stems from his images of him holding the Christ child. He is a strong protector of children as well as the poor.
7.) St. Anthony can be quite lethargic or even lazy at times. Practitioners may need to do things to wake him up and keep him working. One of the things that practitioners can do is to offer him a glass of cold water and then use one's fingers to fling some cold water on his statue or image to wake him up. Another thing practitioners can do is to keep candles burning to him at night so that he can't sleep. Additionally one may want to bring his image out and place it in a well-trafficked portion of the home with a lot of noise and activity so that he can't nap during the day. There are other and more "meaner" practices which I will touch on below.
8.) St. Anthony's favorite offerings are water, bread, salt, olive oil, candles, incense, and white lilies. Do not offer him alcohol as it offends him or else is said to make him drunk so that he won't work for you. Do not offer St. Anthony any coins as he took a vow of poverty. When offering bread before he fulfills your petition then only give him a pinch of bread. If you feed him to much he will get full and will not work for you.
9.) To work with St. Anthony one will need a statue or picture of him. If one is using a novena candle then the image on the candle will suffice. One will also need a brown or white candle. Again, if one is using a novena candle then an additional candle is not necessary. One will need St. Anthony Oil, Holy Oil, or Olive oil, and St. Anthony Incense or Frankincense. One will also need a glass of water. Cleanse the workspace with Florida Water or Rubbing Alcohol. Do not use Whisky or any type of alcohol to cleanse the workspace. Fix the candle and set it down on the workspace. Light the incense and set the glass of water down. One can then place a pinch of bread and a pinch of salt in front of the novena if one prefers. One will then need to pray a prayer to St. Anthony, either in one's own words or a standard prayer, such as the ones at the below link. (I especially like the Jamaican prayer!) Make sure to state your vow to the saint in return for his help.

When the novena is done, place all the left-over items into the empty novena glass and take it to the crossroads. Set it down and then walk away and don't look back.
10. As far as vows go and in addition to his favorite offerings, St. Anthony prefers vows of donations to charities for children and the poor.
11.) There are a couple of rather mean tricks that can be used if St. Anthony is too lethargic or is slow in working. This first mean trick is to purchase a statue of him with a removable Christ child baby. For an example of such a statue, click HERE. That way, when petitioning him one will remove the baby and hide it somewhere and then tell St. Anthony he will get his baby back when the petition is granted. St. Anthony loves children and the loss of the child will stress him and make him work faster. The second mean option is to turn his statue upside down. One tells St. Anthony that one will turn his statue right-side-up when the petition is granted. Again, this is done to stress the saint and to get him working faster.
12.) If St. Anthony works for you then make sure to keep your vow to him and tell at least one other person.

WANTED: YOUR STORIES OF REAL MONSTERS!Have you had an experience with a real monster or paranormal/supernatural creature or entity and want to tell someone about it? -Then email me! I love hearing people's stories with the unknown. Depending on your permission, I may even use your story in a blog entry.
Also, if you are an individual who identifies as a Witch, Vampire, Werewolf, Fairy, Alien or other supernatural being, feel free to shoot me an email as well and tell me about your experiences. I would love to interview you! Your anonymity, if so chosen, is guaranteed.
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About Me & A Warning

I'm a lover of folklore. As a child I loved reading or hearing about so-called 'real life monsters'. Back then I truly believed that monsters were hiding behind every corner and in every bush. Now that I'm grown, I take a more agnostic approach to such tales. I think it's important to touch on the nature of folklore and how one should approach it. It would be a disservice unto folklore to approach it as having a 100% basis in reality. Instead, the proper way to approach folklore is to perceive it as if occurring in an alternative reality or parallel universe. Sure, these tales are magical and intruiging, but they also have a dark side, or should I say, people do. People who can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality have been inspired by folklore to harass, abuse, and even kill people. Just think of all the people who have been executed for being witches and werewolves. Did such women actually fly through the air to have sex with the devil and eat babies? Did men actually don a magic wolf's pelt to transform into a beast and stalk the night? According to many the answer would be, 'Yes'. I'm not trying to destroy folk tales, instead, I believe it's important to put them in their proper place. The purpose of folklore is to entertain, to fascinate, to escape from the harshness or doldrum of everyday existence, a nice harmless scare. Sometimes folklore is also a means of protecting small children by scaring them into remaining close to home and away from danger. Folklore is magical. Monsters are magical. Let's not forget that when searching for monsters the first place we should look is in the mirror. Sometimes the monsters are indeed out there. However, often they are a lot closer to home than we would like to admit.